Holiday time is all about family. For some this is very enjoyable, for others it is a time filled with stress. Over the past few years, I have realized how rare it is to be in the first category and how truly lucky I am. No, I am not bragging just merely appreciating my good fortune.
I was having my daily phone conversation with my mother and was going over my plans for apple crumb cake bars. You see, I always talk through my recipe plans with my mother before I start. I am convinced it bores the hell out of her but she always so politely pretends to care. (She has zero interest in baking. Zero.) So I am discussing my plan to cut up the apples when she interrupts me and says “What if you use apple butter? No working mom wants to slice apples.” “Hmm good point” I reply. “Ain’t nobody got time for that.”
Not sure if I mentioned it yet, but I think everything tastes better with chocolate chips. Everything. Recently my husband and I were at a party and I challenged the other guests to come up with any food that isn’t improved by chocolate chips. Of course there was silence because, well, there simply isn’t one. However, one girl’s eyes lit up and she proudly said “tuna fish.” My smartass husband didn’t miss a beat and replied “mole sauce.”
So I’ve never in my life had a real s’more. I believe it requires you to actually go camping. Apparently roasting marshmallows with the fire from your gas burner isn’t s’more-worthy. So the cat’s out of the bag, I’ve never been camping either. While I find the romance of camping tempting (sleeping under the stars, becoming one with nature, etc.), I fear the reality (bugs, wild animals, did I mention bugs?) would make me absolutely miserable.
After college I moved to New York with my faux bro. He wanted to live in Chelsea (of course, don’t all gay New York men?) so I found us an apartment on 25th street. We lived in a two bedroom railroad apartment that required you to walk through the kitchen to get to the bathroom at the other end. This was a source of hilarity for pretty much every visitor but it was perfectly normal to New Yorkers.
